Carrie Ann’s week of March 14th reading log

Posted by on March 18, 2010 
Filed under Reading logs

“Do no harm”… This is what doctors must remember when dealing with patients and this is what as researchers we must also take into account when interacting with our study participants.  Within educational research we must also think about how are studies are going to affect those who take part and how we report our findings.  While taking Educational Research 810 last semester, I went through the training for the CITI Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Human Research Curriculum, in which you learn about the history and ethics of educational research and the rights/protections of your participants.

From last semester we addressed the three ethical criteria for Human Subjects research, yet we worded it a bit differently. If I were to explain each principal to a student in a future section of this course or another research course,  I would explain them in the following ways: 1) Respect for Persons is making sure that in your study you obtain your subjects specific consent to participate in the study and you respect their right to privacy and anonymity. This is important so that personal information presented cannot be specifically linked to the participant (you can give each person a code number instead of their name and make sure that all identifying information is kept secure and not out in the open).  2) Beneficence is letting your research participants know the benefits and risks of participating in the study. This is especially important in medical research, so that participants know of any “side-effects” that could happen and they know that they have the right to ask questions during the study. You as researcher should let your participants know how you hope the outcomes and purpose of the study could benefit not only them but the general population as well. 3) Justice can refer to an equal chance of being selected to participate in the study. Also, justice can be the right to withdraw from participation in the study at any time.

These particular ethical issues must be addressed when you propose your study to the IRB and any deviations from your study must also receive approval from the board.  Yes, our studies will advance areas in the SoTL, but we must remember to “Do no Harm” while completing your research and keep research ethics in the forefront of your mind at all times.

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